Guerrilla Girls bring message of equality to Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

Guerrilla Girls artists Kathe Kollwitz, Zubeida Agha and Frida Kahlo during a press preview for an exhibition of works by the Guerrilla Girls titled "Not Ready To Make Nice: 30 Years And Still Counting," at the Abrams Art Center, 466 Grand St. in New York, on April 30, 2015.(Photo: Andrew Hinderaker)

The Guerrilla Girls have fought for gender and race equality while condemning corruption for nearly 30 years. Sometimes the slow pace of change is overwhelming, but the women in the collective keep putting on their gorilla masks and making art.

Two representatives from the group under the aliases Frida Kahlo and Zubeida Agha will visit Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and give a public presentation Feb. 22 and a student workshop Feb. 23. The Guerrilla Girls formed in the 1980s as an anonymous feminist activist artist collective to expose gender and ethnic bias in the arts and politics. Members take the names of historical female artists, don gorilla masks and protest through art.

When the Guerrilla Girls formed decades ago, the group decided to use humor and facts to protest the underrepresentation of women and artists of color. The girls have created more than 100 street projects, posters and sticker campaigns.

“Guerrilla Girls’ definition of a hypocrite?” reads one poster. “An art collector who buys white male art at benefits for liberal causes, but never buys art by women or artists of color.”

One of the group's signature posters features a naked woman wearing a gorilla mask. "Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?" the poster says. "Less than 4% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 76% of the nudes are female." The statistics come from the museum. The idea is to not just talk to the converted but to start people thinking. A selection of Guerrilla Girls posters is on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

"Protest art is a tool for social change needed now more than ever," Agha said in a phone interview last week. The group is particularly busy in the current political climate – taking part protests like the Women's March on Washington and speaking across the country. She said crowds at their presentations increased after the election – about 500 people attended a recent talk at the University of Florida.

"The art world today is so influenced by big money," said Agha, who joined the Guerrilla Girls 10 years ago. "Young artists what they want to do is find a blue chip gallery and sell. (The Guerrilla Girls) joined an art world that’s about creating significant cultural changes."

In addition to creating art with social and political meaning, Agha wants to instill a questioning mindset in students – interrogate the art history taught and demand a representative history that includes women artists and artists of color.

The presentation from Agha and founding member Kahlo begins at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 at MIAD, 273 E. Erie St. Admission is free. Info: miad.edu.

The Guerrilla Girls made this poster, "The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist," in 1988. Two representatives from the group will speak at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Feb. 22.(Photo: Guerilla Girls)